He knows the Hawks can play a team evenly and as long as they can go on a 10-point run sometime during the game, they stand a very good chance of winning.

But the 25-0 run Hiland went on to start the game was beyond his wildest imagination.

The Hawks (22-2) used the first-quarter spurt to coast to a 68-43 win over Caldwell (13-9) to wrap up the Indian Valley Div. IV district championship.

"The first quarter," Schlabach said, "that was about as good as we've looked all year."

During the run, Hiland built its lead with hot shooting (11-of-19) and high pressure (10 Caldwell turnovers) all while holding the Redskins to 0-for-7 shooting.

It was a nightmare scenario for the opposition.

"I've known of teams they've played this year and they bury them," Caldwell coach Chad Briggs said.  "But I told the girls to keep their heads up and they did."

The Redskins did anything but fold.

For the final 25 minutes, they played neck-and -neck with the defending state champions.

A major reason for their success was a 9-of-17 effort from beyond the arc.

It was led by sophomore Leann Hesson, who finished with five trifectas in a 15-point effort.

It was a stat that disappointed Schlabach.

"Especially from the same kid," he said.  "Once we realize the kid is knocking them down, we've got to do a better job of finding her."

But the sometimes sloppy effort around the perimeter was balanced out thanks to a stellar job inside by Hiland posts Krista Beechy and Rachel Thomas.

They held Caldwell's big gunner, post Tressa Ramsey, to 12 points -- six from downtown -- and three rebounds.

"They know," Briggs said.  "They do their homework.  They did a nice job of defending her."

That was parlayed by the most balanced scoring effort Hiland has had in the tournament.  Guard Jena Stutzman led the way with 16 points, while Lindsay Stuckey (14 points) and Rachel Thomas (12 points) each reached double digits.

They also saw a nine-point effort from point guard Lydia Miller and six points from Beechy.

Briggs was impressed with the duo of Stuckey and Stutzman.

"Both those girls are good," he said.  "And Thomas is so physical inside.  They execute well offensively and that's where we want to be."

Where the Hawks will be next week is in a regional game against a Trimble team they bumped off last season.

While the Hawks graduated some great players last season, Trimble will bring essentially the same team it had in 2005.

"In my mind they think our team has changed a lot," Schlabach said.  "So they'll probably be pretty confident."

Schlabach will feel more confident if his team does something he said they haven't done yet this season.

"I don't think we've played our best game yet," he said.  "Hopefully that's a good thing and hopefully it's coming."